The origin of the name of Gozo

Abstract

鈥淒o you come from G魔awdex?鈥� is a question that sounds as discordant as the other one, 鈥淚ntom minn Gozo?鈥�. To one not conversant with the Greek origin of the names of Gozo, such questions sound like being uttered by Maltese trying to speak English, and mix Maltese with English or, the other way round, like knowledgeable tourists trying to speak Maltese and, to our mind, mix it with 鈥淓nglish鈥�. This paper will show that none is the case. We, in fact, can use 鈥淕魔awdex鈥� liberally when speaking in English; likewise, we can use the name of 鈥淕ozo鈥� when speaking in Maltese, for, as this paper will show, Gozo is an ancient variant of Gaudos from which it is derived, as much as G魔awdex is. The irony is that Gozo, G魔awdex and Gaudos did not originally belong to us.